Petoskey, Pellston back to facing familiar foes in district basketball

September 02, 2005

When the girls - and for that matter boys - district basketball tournaments roll around again some familiar opponents for Petoskey and Pellston will appear from the past.

Why? Because both schools have dropped back to the class they were in for what seemed forever, Petoskey from A back to B, and Pellston from C back to D.

Ironically, both schools will be the host sites for the November girls' tournaments.

Coming to Petoskey for Class B play will be Cheboygan, Elk Rapids, Grayling, Kalkaska and Roscommon. Elk Rapids has moved up in class since the last time Petoskey played in B. All the rest are former district foes.

At Pellston, it's back to the more traditional four, the Hornets, Alanson, Mackinaw City and Harbor Light Christian.

In other district assignments:

Class D at Gaylord St. Mary other schools are Boyne Falls and Vanderbilt. The fourth team was Wolverine but the Wildcats do not have team this fall.

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Class D at Ellsworth also includes Alba, Bellaire and Central Lake.

Class C at Mancelona also includes Boyne City, Charlevoix, East Jordan, Harbor Springs and Inland Lakes. Inland Lakes is a new entrant after playing on the eastern side district for a number of years.

Two area schools will be hosting regional tournaments, Harbor Springs in Class B and Boyne Falls in Class D. In addition, the Pellston district winner goes to the Sault Ste. Marie regional; while Class B will be played in Gaylord.

For the second straight year, Petoskey will host a Class C quarterfinal pitting the regional winner from Harbor Springs against the Marquette regional winner.

In Class D, the Boyne Falls regional winner plays a quarterfinal game at Traverse City Central; and the Sault Ste. Marie winner stays at Sault if from the Lower Peninsula, or goes to Escanaba if from the Upper Peninsula.

Districts run from Nov. 14-19; regionals from Nov. 21-23; the quarterfinals are Nov. 29; and the semifinals and finals Dec. 1-2-3 at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center, East Lansing.

Back again

Alicia Grambeau (Harbor Springs, 2002) is back for her senior season with the highly successful Ohio Wesleyan University (Delaware, Ohio) women's soccer team.

The Bishops have gone to the NCAA Division III tournament all three years she has been on the team, including a National Championship in 2002.

Last year, OWU went 16-3-2 overall and 8-0 in North Coast Atlantic Conference, bowing in the NCAA sectional semifinals. The Bishops are the pre-season conference favorite.

Grambeau has been the team's second leading scorer in each of her three seasons and in 2004 scored 11 goals with two assists.

Ohio Wesleyan opens its season Saturday, Sept. 3, in the Big Red/Bishop Invitational at Denison University in Ohio.

National softballer

Adam LaLonde is a very familiar named in Petoskey softball (fast pitch) circles. The Cheboygan graduate has played on numerous occasions at Ed White Field in Petoskey.

LaLonde has had quite a career on the national level for several years now.

Most recently, LaLonde had taken part in two huge events.

During the first weekend in August he competed in the Amateur Softball Association's Major Men's National Tournament with the Tampa Bay Smokers who took first place. LaLonde was named the batting champion for the tournament and earned first-team All-American honors. His batting average was around the .700 mark against some of the best throwers in the country.

Two weekends ago, LaLonde competed in the International Softball Congress (ISC) World Tournament in Eau Claire, Wisc. with his regular season team, Circle Tap from Denmark, Wisc. The team finished third out of 40 entrants and he again was named to the All-World First Team as an outfielder.

Players from six different countries took part, including Lucas Mata from Argentina, considered the world's fastest thrower.

In 2003 LaLonde was one of 18 players in the United States to play for Team USA in the Pan-Am Games and in 2004 in the International Softball Federation (ISF) World Tournaments, both held every four years.